Here’s how Taylor Swift influenced voter registrations

HOUSTON, TX - FEBRUARY 04: Musician Taylor Swift performs onstage during the 2017 DIRECTV NOW Super Saturday Night Concert at Club Nomadic on February 4, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for DIRECTV)

by Baylie Clevenger

The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinion of Byte or Byte’s editorial board.

Midterm elections are less than a month away, and, for many states, the deadline for registration has passed.

In the last few days before registration closed, the New York Times reported that the whole country saw a spike in voter registration, with more than 150,000 new registrations. Just a little fewer than half of those registrations came from people ages 18-24. The state of Tennessee also saw a spike in registrations of about 6,000 people.

This spike in registrations is no coincidence after pop star Taylor Swift took to Instagram to discuss her political stances and particularly endorsed two Democratic candidates from Tennessee.

“I’m writing this post about the upcoming midterm elections on November 6th, in which I’ll be voting in the state of Tennessee. In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now,” said Swift.

In the age of social media, celebrity opinions have a significant impact on votes as well as the political opinions of their fans.

This kind of influence is expected from anything celebrities do. When they endorse anything, political or not, their fans pick up on it and make it part of their lives. Celebrities have been this way for a long time, but it seems they are more influential now because their message reaches further and faster with social media.

As with discourse of any kind, celebrities sharing and endorsing different political stances raises questions. Should celebrities remain unbiased? Why are their voices so influential?

The answers are relatively simple. Celebrities are people with thoughts, feelings and yes… opinions. Regardless of what views they may have, it is unreasonable to expect celebrities to keep silent on their political opinions or partisan biases.

At the end of the day, celebrity endorsement or not, social media and technology in general increase voter turnout. For example, the transportation app Lyft is offering free and discounted rides to citizens who are have been unable to vote in the past due to a lack of transportation. They even used Twitter to announce this campaign, which they are calling “The Ride to Vote.” Social media sites like Facebook also offer users reminders about registration, as well as about when election day is.

Though voter turnout and registration fluctuates every year, support from social media and celebrities can certainly spike civic participation at least temporarily. It can especially increase participation for midterm elections, which are far more overlooked than general presidential elections. Celebrities and social media combined are incredibly influential.

Baylie is double majoring in Journalism and Women’s and Gender Studies. She has been with Byte since January of 2018 and has also written for other publications like The Odyssey and Affinity. Baylie has always had a passion for writing and has wanted to be a journalist since she was 13. She hopes to inspire people with her writing and contribute an informed society.